Extra Points with Pete
By PETE THOMPSON
By the time you read this, Memorial Day Weekend 2019 will have come and went. What a three-day weekend it was…! For the first time in a long time, all three days were what I like to call “Chamber of Commerce” weather as they were full of sunshine, low humidity and loads of folks enjoying the Jersey Shore. To all the businesses out there that rely on tourism traffic, I can only wish that the rest of the weekends from now through Labor Day are as beautiful as the one that just passed.
Since I last wrote, a few big names from the world of sports have passed away. The Eagles are working their way through OTA’s. I hoped the Phillies best player was finding his way, but I’m not sure that’s the case. Sixers fans have to watch the team that knocked Philly out of the playoffs compete in the NBA Finals. A former Flyers tough guy is hoping to get his name on the Stanley Cup. And, the Atlantic City Blackjacks miss out on a golden opportunity to knock off an unbeaten team.
From the entertainment world, I’ll ask if you know, “Who is James Holzhauer?” Also, are you ready for ROCKETMAN…? As always though, we begin with sports, and my thoughts for the week that was:
It was sad to hear of the passing of Packers legendary QB Bart Starr at age 85. Now, I’m too young to have watched him play, but after spending a decade of my life in Nebraska, I think I have a good idea for the reverence that Packers fans had for #15. I mean, the man won an unprecedented five NFL championships! The video clip you see the most is of his one-yard QB plunge in the “Ice Bowl” when the wind chill at Lambeau Field was -48 degrees. However, Packer legends like Brett Favre and others say that Starr’s lasting legacy should be what a warm gentleman he was off the field.
Starr only lost one playoff game in his time with the Packers as a player. Most Eagles fans know the answer to that one though as until Super Bowl LII in Minnesota, the Birds only championship was a NFL Championship over Starr & Vince Lombardi’s Packers in 1960. Here’s the scenario…at the Philadelphia 22-yard line with seconds to play and no time-outs left, Packers’ quarterback Bart Starr threw a short pass to running back Jim Taylor. The last Eagle between Taylor and the end zone was Chuck Bednarik; he tackled Taylor at the Eagles’ 10-yard line and essentially sat on top of Taylor as the final seconds ticked off the clock, ensuring that Taylor could not get up off the ground and that the Packers could not run another play. Bednarik had played both defense and offense – at the age of 35 – and was in for 58 minutes of the game. As the final gun sounded, Bednarik growled to Taylor, “You can get up now, Taylor. This damn game’s over!”
On Memorial Day Monday, the baseball world mourned the loss of former Red Sox great Bill Buckner at age 69. Buckner, sadly, misplayed a ball in the 1986 World Series that eventually saw the opposing New York Mets win it all, and not Boston. Things got so bad for “Billy Buck” that he moved to Idaho to get away from all the negative attention. However, Boston and a lot of baseball fans came around to realize what a great player & guy Buckner was. Buckner, for his part, was able to poke fun at his lowest moment when he suddenly appeared near the end of a memorable 2012 “Curb Your Enthusiasm” episode where he catches a baby dropped from a burning building. Even in Hollywood, Larry David gave Bill Buckner the chance to go out the hero.
I wrote last week about Bryce Harper showing signs of starting to hit again. Whoops, might’ve spoke too soon. As I write this, Harper leads Major League Baseball in strikeouts. The next closest Phillie on the list is Rhys Hoskins, but he’s at 15 less than Harper through 53 games.
If you’re a Sixers fan, are you happy or angry that Toronto has advanced to the NBA Finals…? The Raptors knocked out Joel Embiid and company, but I fall in the category of happy. In other words, I think it lessens the sting out of the Sixers losing to a team that is in the NBA Finals against Golden State. I’ll put my pick of Warriors in 5 here first.
As I write this, Boston & St. Louis are skating in the Stanley Cup Finals. Former Flyer Brayden Schenn scored for the Blues in Game One, and former Flyer Craig Berube has done an outstanding job since taking over for Mike Yeo as Blues Head Coach. I’m definitely pulling for St. Louis in this one, but if Game One is any indication, the Blues are going to have to stay out of the penalty box and play with more discipline if they’re going to hoist the Cup.
I went back to see the Atlantic City Blackjacks as they really had a chance to knock off unbeaten Albany at home. Self-inflicted wounds did them in though, including a botched kick return that turned into a fumble in the endzone and a quick six for the Valor. I still think you should get out and sample the product though as they have one more home game in this stretch of the season left.
I have two items from entertainment as I urge you all to tune in to “Jeopardy” and check out James Holzhauer. He’s shattering records on the show as he goes for the high value clues first out of the box and seems to rack up an insurmountable lead so quickly that the other players are often dazed about what just happened. Fun to watch.
From the Silver Screen, the movie “Rocketman” is set to go in theaters in wide release on Friday May 31st. After the success of “Bohemian Rhapsody”, I can imagine the Elton John approved bio doing really well at the box office. I’m certainly going to go see it.
I’ll close with this. On Memorial Day Monday, I posted on Facebook about my cousin Mike who died while serving our country overseas in 2010. For Michael P. Cassidy and all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, I am humbled and grateful. Some Gave All. Never Forget. Thank you for our Freedom. God Bless the USA, and all those serving and protecting our freedom…!!!
Pete has been the local “sports guy” at the Jersey Shore since 2004. After a decade with TV 40, he joined 97.3 ESPN radio to talk Eagles, Phillies, Sixers & Flyers with Mike Gill on “The SportsBash” each day from 2-6 p.m.
Pete is proud to be a “voice” for the annual ShopRite LPGA Classic each June, and does emcee work for groups like the National Football Foundation, The Old Grad Awards, and The 200 Club of Atlantic County. You can hear Pete each Tuesday on 97.3 ESPN at 5:30p, and if you see him out & about in the community, he requests that you please say “Hi”. Send comments to PBrooksT@aol.com
